Feature

  1. Humans

    A Galling Business

    Efforts are under way to halt both poaching and inhumane farming of bears to supply bile, an ingredient used in traditional Asian medicine.

    By Janet Raloff
  2. Astronomy

    Crisis in the Cosmos?

    Baby galaxies that hail from the early history of the cosmos but are full of old stars and are nearly as massive as the Milky Way is today may challenge the standard theory of galaxy formation.

    By Ron Cowen
  3. Humans

    Benched Science

    As a result of three U.S. Supreme Court decisions in the 1990s, people who sue for redress from injury are now less likely to have scientific or medical evidence concerning that injury reach a jury.

    By Janet Raloff
  4. Tech

    Growing Expectations

    Biofuels made from waste agricultural plant matter are gaining prominence as new technologies make them increasingly competitive with petroleum fuels.

    By Naila Moreira

  5. Living History

    Bacteria and fungi living on artworks and artifacts often cause extensive damage.

    By Christen Brownlee
  6. Plants

    Save the Flowers

    Now that breeders have created thousands of new ornamental-flower varieties, scientists are turning their attention to restoring the fragrances that fell victim to the process.

    By Ivan Amato

  7. Childhood’s End

    In northern Thailand, parents send one or more of their daughters off to become prostitutes so that the girls will make enough money to improve the local status of their families, a finding with implications for programs aimed at stopping child prostitution.

    By Bruce Bower
  8. Health & Medicine

    Oral Exams

    Scientists are taking advantage of the components in spit to develop new, saliva-based diagnostic tests.

    By Christen Brownlee
  9. Earth

    The Wind and the Fury

    New research suggests that, as global warming proceeds, hurricane winds will gain speed and the storms will dump more rain, but controversy lingers as to how much more violent the storms will become and when they will occur.

    By Ben Harder
  10. Health & Medicine

    When Flu Flies the Coop

    Scientists are tracking the spread of a threatening influenza virus in birds and exploring strategies that could be used to halt a potential outbreak in people before it explodes into a global epidemic.

    By Ben Harder
  11. Astronomy

    Deep Impact

    Data from the Deep Impact mission reveal that the bullet that slammed into Comet Tempel 1 on July 4 excavated material that likely hadn't seen the light of day since the birth of the solar system 4.5 billion years ago.

    By Ron Cowen

  12. Food Fix

    Scientists have discovered a number of neurological connections between drug addiction and obesity.

    By Christen Brownlee